The New Job
by v.boredgirl
Summary: Lizzy has been gone for the last 3 years. How will she deal with a new job, a persistently annoying Collins and a pretentious Darcy as her... well you will soon find out! Modern, rated T for some language.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own any of Jane Austen's characters. Unfortunately :(

Much love to my lovely Beta magicaltimetravel! love you lots :D

* * *

Chapter 1:

Lizzy sighed. She couldn't believe that she was doing this. She was going for a job as PA to an executive at De Bourgh Enterprises even though she had a first from Cambridge. From Cambridge! She sighed again. She needed the money, and this was the only job that would take her because of her lack of experience. You would think working in abroad for 3 years would give her more than enough experience, but apparently not. She sighed for the third time. On top of that, her mother had found out that she was back. She was now having to go back home to suffer through a welcome home party. It was just a ploy for her mother to introduce her to eligible bachelors, which basically meant every single man her mother had ever met would be there. She was already thinking of ways to get out of it. She sighed for the fourth time in ten minutes.

"Everything alright there, miss?" Lizzy looked up to see a young man looking at her questioningly. She looked around to the faces of other applicants looking at her like she'd grown a second head. Apparently she had been sighing a little loudly then she had intended.

"Um, yeah. Everything is great." Aside from the fact that she was going for a job that would get her nowhere, she still hadn't thought of an excuse for her mother's welcome home party and that man (or should she say boy) had just had the nerve to call her "miss"!

"Your interviewer is ready for you now."

"Oh, ok. Thanks." She picked up her briefcase and started walking towards the room that he had pointed out to her. Okay. Deep breaths. Think positive. That's what Jane would say. She was pretty sure Jane had called in a lot of favours to get her this interview, so she had better make it a good 'un.

"Hello Lizzy," began her interviewer.

"Oh crap." It was Darcy. Or should was it the great William Darcy, graduate from the Great School of Douchcraft and Douchery.

"That's a wonderful way to introduce yourself to your interviewer, isn't it?"

"Hello Darceface," he made a face at the mention of her nickname for him, "I would say that it's great to see you, but it's not, so I won't."

"Again, you're making a great impression to the person who could potentially give you a job." He said, smiling smugly. Damn it. She hated that pretentious dickhead.

"Excuse me!" Oh shoot, she had said it out loud. Okay, Lizzy. You need this job and if you have to suck up to Snobby Mr Douche then you will, okay? Okay after her mini pep talk she put on her best, most fake smile and directed it towards him.

"Sorry, Mr Darcy where are my manners? I am so sorry if anything I have said so far has offended you but believe me when I say that that wasn't my intention." Damn. Jane would be so proud of her.

"Of course. Please sit down." He said, gesturing to the seat opposite his.

"Thank you very much, kind sir." He raised an eyebrow in return. Okay, maybe that was a little too far.

"So tell me, why do you think you are more equipped for this job than the other candidates outside?"

"Well, for one I am willing to work overtime, and I also have many attributes that I think give me an edge over the other candidates."

"For instance?"

"I am flexible with timings which means that however early I am needed, I can be there, also..."

"Wait, you getting up early! Ha, don't make me laugh. If I remember correctly, you repeatedly hit Charlotte once because she had the nerve to wake you up at 8 o'clock even though you had class at 9!"

"People can change," muttered Lizzy through clenched teeth.

"Well carry on then, what are your other attributes?"

"I am also responsible..."

"Responsible! I think you should be a comedian instead of a PA. Responsible. Ha," He mocked, interrupting her for the second time. Darcy was starting to really get on her nerves.

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Her voice rose sharply.

"Do you not remember our final year of uni?!"

* * *

**_"We are ready for the check now please."_**

**_"Charlotte, I'm not sure I'm want to do this"_**

**_"Come on Lizzy. It is your turn to do a dare and remember I did dress up as Ronald McDonald and apply for that job at Burger King!"_**

**_"Ok, fine! Ready... set... go go go" Lizzy grabbed her bag and legged it out the door._**

**_"Hey, come back here. Somebody stop her!"Lizzy heard the thunder of feet behind her, it was lucky that she ran everyday or she would have been a heap on the floor._**

**_"Got you," someone suddenly grabbed her arm and she started falling backwards towards the pavement._**

**_"Elizabeth!" Oh crap._**

**_"Darcy!" Double crap._**

* * *

"That was a long time ago."

"Really? I also remember a time when you..."

Count to ten. That's what Jane would say. Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth, in and out, in and out. Ignore him, ignore him, ignore him, ignore him...

Or slap him. That's what she did.

"What the hell!" he exclaimed, rubbing the cheek that had an imprint of her hand on it already.

"_That_ is for wasting my time. You were obviously not going to give me the job when you found out that it was me," she shouted, grabbing her briefcase and walking out with her head held high.

...

"Jane, I'm home! Jane!" Lizzy waited briefly for an answer before deducing that Jane was probably with Charlie. Why the hell was Charlie best friends with that pompous, conceited, S.O.B.

"Time for a Doctor Who marathon and chocolate ice-cream, methinks."

...

"NOOOOOOOOO! Rory! Rory come back. Un-eradicate yourself! I SAID UN-ERADICATE YOURSELF!"

"Why do you always do this to yourself, Lizzy?" Lizzy jumped out of her skin "You know that he comes back anyway. On second thoughts haven't you watched this series about one million times now?"

"Of course I have, who hasn't? This is Doctor Who for goodness' sake! I mean I was out of the country for 3 years and I am still up to date with it!"

"Your obsession with Doctor Who astounds me, Lizzy," Jane said, smiling softly.

"You love me really Janie," Lizzy giggled, waggling her tongue at her. "Or wait, is all your love wrapped around Charlie instead?"

"Lizzy!" Jane cried out, throwing a pillow at her much beloved sister. Luckily for Lizzy, Jane had terrible aim and it entered up on the other side of the room to Lizzy.

"Sorry. I had a crap day, guess who my interviewer was?"

"Who?" Jane asked settling herself onto the sofa.

"DARCEFACE."

...

"...so then I slapped him and walked out."

"Lizzie!"

"What? He deserved it. He purposely wasted my time. That guy has a superiority complex or something..."

"You still shouldn't have done it!"

"But..."

"...No buts, Lizzy, as much as I love you. Now come on." Jane forcibly dragged Lizzy up from her position on the sofa and pushed her towards her room.

"Where are you taking me?"

"You are going out with me and Charlie"

"But..."

"... No more buts Lizzy. What are you going to do here anyway? Wallow in self-pity, eat another tub of ice cream, decide to clean the apartment and then get tired and leave it in a bigger mess! No. You are coming out with me and Charlie so at least I know that you are not going to do something you'll regret, okay?!"

With that Lizzie got up and walked into her room, her shoulders slumped in defeat. There were some days where you don't listen to Jane and there were some days where you do. This was one of the days when you do.

...

Jane and Lizzy were in the taxi when Jane got a phone call from Charlie.

"Hey Charlie... Okay...Okay...That's fine...Yep, she is here... Okay... See you in a minute!"

"What was that, Jane?" Lizzy enquired suspiciously, not liking the look in her sister's eyes.

"Nothing," Jane said a little too sweetly, "We're here, come on." With that Jane paid the driver and hopped out of the car.

"This is getting weird," thought Lizzy. Regardless she got out of the taxi and followed Jane. "At least my day can't get any worse I guess. I mean, I get a free meal out of this. What's not to love about free food?"

Apparently free food came with strings. Because there sitting with Charlie was the most annoying man on earth, William Darcy.

* * *

Hey guys this is my first multi-chaptered story, so please be nice

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	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own any of Jane Austen's characters. Unfortunately :(

Much love to my lovely Beta magicaltimetravel! Lot of love :D

* * *

Chapter 2:

Lizzy immediately turned right back around and began to walk back the way she had come. She couldn't believe that he was here. That awful, awful man, who probably didn't know how to smile, was here. Here. Where she was. Here.

"Lizzy wait, wait!" Jane said, catching hold of Lizzy's arm just before she could grab the door and leave.

"What, Jane?! I told you how much I hate that man and either you must have not didn't know that he was going to be here or you knew he was going to be here but didn't tell me! Personally I hope that it is the first one because you are my sister and you have to love me which means that you wouldn't purposefully do this to me!" Lizzy said, her already red face turning an even more ridiculous colour.

"LIZZY!" Oh crap. Jane never raised her voice. Okay, maybe Lizzy had pushed a little. Not that she would ever admit it, of course.

"You are going to go back up there and apologise to William because you are a decent human being, and you should not have slapped him in the face. Okay?" Jane stated calmly, already leading Lizzy back to the table which she had just vacated. Jane was definitely leaving no room for arguments tonight.

"Sorry about that, Lizzy had to make a very important phone call."

"Yeah sorry about that," Lizzy mumbled, staring down at her feet.

"Another thing you should be sorry for, hey Lizzy?" Darcy said, his annoyingly handsome face etched with that smug expression. _Wait hold on. Handsome? Holy crap Elizabeth Bennet, you _are_ losing it._

"It's fine Liz. We thought as much, didn't we Darce?" Charlie said, oblivious to the underlying tension between Darcy and Lizzy. "Let's order."

...

"Sorry."

"…What?" Darcy asked, clearly confused at her talking to him seeing as she had been blatantly ignoring him for the duration of their dinner. Even when he had directly asked her questions, she had ignored him and played with her food or napkin.

"I said sorry, okay? Sorry for slapping you in the face. It wasn't a planned action and I deeply regret it now." Lizzie muttered through clenched teeth. _Damn, this is the second time she has had to apologise to him. Will he honestly put me through it again?_

He did.

"Sorry, I didn't hear that, could you repeat it please?"

"S. O. R. R. Y." She spelled for him, making it as clear as she knew how.

"Apology accepted, Elizabeth. Just for your information, hitting your interviewer in the face is not the best way to end an interview."

"Noted. Thanks, Darceface, I will remind myself of that every time I leave an interview."

"If you can get another interview, that is..."

...

"Oh please, Penguin Random House is such a mouthful! Penguin House is an amalgamation of the two and definitely sounds better!"

"No it doesn't! Penguin Random House is also an amalgamation of the two _and_ Penguin House sounds juvenile. This means that less people will invest in the company!"

Lizzy agreed with him but she found it too fun pressing his buttons and to be fair, it's not something she was proud of. Agreeing with Douchey Darcy, that is.

"Oh please, money isn't that important!"

"It is to me, and it is to you to, otherwise you wouldn't have applied for that job at my aunts."

"What the hell has that got to do with anything?!"

"You needed money, so you applied for the job. But your employer needs money to employ people and how do they do that? _By getting people to invest so that they have more money. _They can use that money to employ people. People like you. Therefore the Random House and Penguin merger should be called Penguin Random House." Darcy said leaning backwards from their rather animated "conversation " arrogantly, thinking that he had won the argument.

"I thought we agreed to put that in the past"

"Did we, I don't remember doing so..."

"Now listen here Darcy, I have had it up to here with you." She gestured with her hand to the top of her head to emphasise her point (it did, seeing as how Lizzy was a respectable 5 foot 7 without heels on and today she was wearing heels.) "You are a pompous, conceited, arrogant self righteous bastard who obviously doesn't know when to stop talking. One day I am going to punch that smug smile of your worthless face. You know what, I retract my apology. As they say, an apology only means something if the person who said it, meant it. Guess what Darceface. I didn't!"

"No wonder you can't get a job! No one in their right mind would hire you. It is a wonder that you found someone to love you... Oh wait, you didn't. Your engagement flopped just like your career!"

That's it. That was enough. Lizzy wasn't even going to bother with letting her "inner Jane" out to control the situation.

"YOU ASS," she screeched, stomping on his foot very hard in her 3 inch stilettos and secretly wishing that she could take her shoe off and impale it through his heart, or what was currently occupying that empty space. Promptly grabbing her martini, she downed it in one and left the building in true Elizabeth Bennet style.

...

Lizzy knocked on the door of her best friend, Charlotte Lucas, hoping that she was there to calm her down. All she wanted to do was go back to the restaurant and kill Darcy with her bare hands. She was thinking of ways to do this when the door opened.

"CHARLOTTE," she wailed, falling into the arms of her BFF.

"Lizzy are you alright? Are you drunk?" Charlotte questioned. To be completely honest Charlotte, would be relieved if Lizzy was drunk. She hadn't cut loose since she got back from her 3 year stint in Ghana.

"Nope. But I want to be... Got any alcohol?"

"No, sorry. Maria was here yesterday and the 'rents don't want be setting a bad example for her. Me. A bad example. Really? I mean I know I drink but it's not like I'm an alcoholic or anything?!"

"I'm surprised that you're at home, you're usually at a club on a... Well, any night of the week really."

"Ha ha," Charlotte dryly remarked ,"And why are you here? Jane said you were both going out for dinner with Charlie."

"We did, I left." Lizzy said taking a bite out of Charlotte's stash of chocolate.

"Why do you leave so early?"

"I think I'm going to need some more chocolate..."

...

"I can't believe that douchebag! That was low, unforgivingly low. Wait hold on, is unforgivingly even a word? Sorry going off topic. I mean, what a douche!"

"I agree. That's the main reason I... You know... Slapped him, threatened to punch him and then stood on his foot hard enough to bruise. And all in one day! I think that's a record."

"You better call Jane so that she doesn't worry about you. I'll get the ice cream and start making some hot chocolate with extra marshmallows and whipped cream."

"Thanks, Char." Lizzy started to dial Jane's number.

"Hey Jane it's me... Yeah I'm fine... Well not completely fine but I'm at Char's and we're going to eat a lot of unhealthy food, so that'll cheer me up! Jane, don't worry. I'll see you tomorrow, yeah? Honestly its fine Jane...I'm fine... Okay bye sweetie!"

"Char, where are your Doctor Who boxsets? I feel like we need marathons of Doctor Who to complement our ice cream. You know 'cause they're both so undeniably great and all."

...

"ELIZABETH BENNET PICK UP YOUR DAMN PHONE! IT IS HAS BEEN GOING OFF FOR THE LAST TEN MINUTES! I SWEAR TO GOD LIZZY PICK UP THE PHONE. LIZZY. LIZZY!"

...

Lizzy felt a sharp kick in her stomach.

"CHARLOTTE, I'M BEING MUGGED!"

"No you're not, stupid. It's just me. Your phone is going off like crazy and for someone who was sneaking vodka into her empty ice cream tub all night, it makes me feel... Let's just say I already feel cranky enough without your phone playing "Milkshake."

"Why would that make you fell cranky? Is it because my milkshake actually brings all the boys to the yard and yours doesn't? Oh and Charlotte, you didn't do it very sneakily seeing you were putting most of that vodka in my ice cream tub and laughing every time you did and rubbing your hands together like a villain every time. Even though I could obviously see you doing it."

"I didn't hear you complaining last night. And pick up your damn phone!"

"Hello?" she answered.

"Ah, Eliza this is Collins. Your father's friend's son. Remember?

"It's not something that you let me forget," she muttered.

"Well, I was just ringing to inform you that there is a junior editorial position at the company that I work at and word is you needed a job. I was wondering if you would like me to set up an interview for you. "

"What, really? You're not messing me around"

"Of course not my dear Eliza. I would be happy to get you that interview, I would be even happier to just give you the job but people would say that you only got the job because of your relationship with which would be unfair to you."

"We don't have a relationship, Collins," she said through gritted teeth. This guy was as infuriating as Darcy. Probably more. At least Darcy didn't hit on her. Not that she would mind. _Ew... weird thoughts,_

_she must be more hung over than she had originally thought._

"I can use this to my advantage," Lizzy thought. "I could get a better job than the one that I applied for at De Bourgh Enterprises." She could throw it in Darcy's face that she got a better job at a better place. At least, she hoped it was a better place. Lizzy made her mind up. She would do what her mother always said. "Use what God has given you." … Although her mother probably meant it in a different sense then what Lizzy was thinking.

"Err... Eliza? Are you there?"

"Yeah, I'll take it, Collins"

"That's great, I'll email you the details"

_I hope this isn't like the last time I met him, she thought._

…

"**_Hey Eliza, thanks for helping me with this English coursework."_**

**_"It's fine. Just remember not to do it the day before it's in again, yeah?"_**

**_"Oh course my dear Eliza. You are so clever. I should listen to you more often."_**

**_"Yeah you should... Anyways, let's start by identifying the points that you are going to make for each poem. In this one you can say... What the hell do you think you are doing, Collins?!"_**

**_"Come on Eliza. You can't deny it anymore. You feel something for me and you don't have to worry because I feel something for you too! Probably not as much as what you feel for me but who cares. I mean, why else would you offer to help me?"_**

**_"Listen here Collins..." Lizzy didn't get to say anything else as Collins lips had started to descend upon her. She did the only thing that would show him that she was not interested in the slightest. She punched him. Hard. _**

_..._

She smiled at the memory. She had broken his nose. And it had felt good. So good.

* * *

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I love the people who already have!


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own any of Jane Austen's characters. Unfortunately :(

Much love to my lovely Beta magicaltimetravel! love you :D

* * *

Chapter 3:

"It's probably time for me to go home Char. As much fun as this has been, I don't want to be the reason you lose your job."

"Oh please, like Daddy dearest will fire his first-born child! But you are probably right; I should make an appearance at the old office."

"It amazes me how you were able to get a first law degree from Cambridge with all the partying you did. It also amazes me that your dad hasn't fired you from the practice yet! You never go in!"

"Hey hey... Daddy dearest can't afford to lose me. When I do go in, I mostly never lose a case."

Fortunately for Charlotte that was true. She was just unbelievably lucky. And clever. It was frustrating sometimes for Lizzy not to say anything about Charlotte's lifestyle but what could she do? If she did say something she would lose her best friend and that was a life that she didn't want to live. So she just went with it. And at least it meant that Charlotte had more time to spend with her.

...

Lizzy flopped onto her sofa, a place she had spent way too much time this past month. Ever since she had got back from Ghana she had been bored out of her mind, but at least now she had the possibility of a new job to look forward to. On most days she watched TV or read a book. When she went to Ghana she hadn't been able to read as much as she usually did but as soon as she got back she was a permanent resident of her local library. The librarians on occasion had kicked her out because they had to lock up. Lizzy adored books. That was an understatement. She loved books. That was still an understatement. There were no words that conveyed how much she loved books. And no words that described how much she loved Doctor Who. Or Sherlock. Sigh. Benedict Cumberbatch made everything better and seeing as she was going to have to see Collins in 2 days' time she felt she needed an unhealthy dose of Sherlock.

"Oh crap." Lizzy said out loud. She hadn't rung her mother and come up with an excuse not to attend her own welcome party. At least now she had the excuse... All she had to do was ring her mother and tell her that she couldn't come because she was preparing for her interview. Even though her interview would have happened by then but that wasn't something that her mother needed to know.

She picked up her phone and dialled her parents' house.

"Hello?"

"Hey Kitty, it's Liz –"

"Omg Lizzy I was waiting on a very important phone call from Sarah! You see Sarah had asked Katie who had asked Simon who has asked Jordan whether or not he fancied me! At first I was like omg I can't believe you did that but then I was like well, what did he say? You know most people are saying that he fancies Laura but I don't think so seeing as she is a liar and a fake. I mean no-one can jump from a B cup to DD in one summer! It is so obvious that she had a boob job but she just says that puberty finally hit and I'm like, no honey, no. Puberty hit when you went from a training bra to a B cup. This was obviously like surgically enhanced. I wonder how they did it? Do the surgeons insert the chosen Allergen implants behind the natural breast tissue to make the breasts larger via incisions along the natural crease of the breast, in the armpit OR in the underside of the nipple area? I think they did it in the armpit because she always wears tops with sleeves on them. That's why Cassie said she saw Laura in hospital in the summer. 'Cos like you have to stay in the hospital after a breast augmentation overnight in case something happens."

As stupid as Kitty seemed, she was actually pretty smart. Kitty was 18 and was close to finishing studying for her A-levels. She had been predicted A's and A*'s just like Mary, Jane and Lizzy, Lydia being the only one in the Bennet household ever to have been predicted C's and D's. Kitty wanted to be a surgeon and Lizzy was sure that Kitty could do anything that she wanted to. Kitty used to follow her twin Lydia around like a puppy and did everything Lydia did but she realised that she didn't have to do that and she was free to have a social life and study at the same time, whereas Lydia didn't think she had time for both. So she had decided getting drunk and getting picked up by the police was a suitable substitute for trying hard and getting good grades in school. It had caused many an argument in the Bennet household.

"Hey Kitty, as fascinating as I'm sure this is, is mum around? I need to tell her that I'm not coming to my welcome home party."

"Mum's not going to like that... She has been planning the party ever since you came back. Btw Mary and I are pissed that you didn't tell us that you were coming back!"

"I know Kitty. It's just I needed time before everyone found out that I was back and ask me why I came back and you know about certain _things _that I would rather not talk about." Lizzy put extra stress on the "things" so that her sister would know what she was on about.

"Oh shit. Sorry Lizzy, I forgot. Don't worry we will keep the vultures at bay! Oh, here is mum, hold on a second." Lizzy was pretty close to her sisters. Well, bar Lydia. They had rallied around her when she had gone through the worst time of her life 2 years ago. Although they had been stunned that for once she needed their help and not the other way around. She remembered the time 3 years ago Kitty had found out that Lydia had been playing around with her boyfriend Scott behind her back. When asked why, Lydia had shrugged and said that seeing as Kitty used her stuff all the time she thought it was only fair that she did the same. Kitty had been devastated but had realised from then it was time for her to be her own person. Lizzy had made sure that she rang everyday so that Kitty could rant about Lydia without fear of people questioning her version of events like her so called "friends" did. That is also when she realised that she needed some new friends. She had been able to salvage her GCSE's and get A's and higher in each of her subjects. She also remembered when Mary had come out. It had been hard for Mary seeing as their mum wanted grandbabies from all of her 5 of her children and refused to talk to her until she "went back into the closet and didn't come back out again until she had babies attached to both hips." However once Lizzy had explained the process of adoption and - she shuddered at the memory of how much depth her mother had wanted to go into - artificial insemination, she had quickly come around. There wasn't a party that their mother went to without preaching that kids who hadn't come out of the closest must be feeling very depressed and that her Mary was the picture of joy because she had trusted her mother. Did their children trust them? And Jane. Sweet innocent Jane. She considered the darkest period of her older sisters life. There is one year between Jane and Lizzy so when Lizzy went to university Jane was in her second year. But Charlie and Darcy weren't. They had taken out a gap year so that they could travel the world together and in doing so meant they were a year below people of their same age. In Charlie's case the only thing he missed out on was seeing Jane more often. - If that was even possible, he spent every living moment with her. In the summer holidays of Jane's second year and Charlie's first year he broke it off unexpectedly and even had the nerve to tell his sister to break up with Jane for him! Lizzy and Charlotte had taken Jane out most days and gone to great lengths mountains of numbers from new guys but apparently not one of them compared to Charlie. Nevertheless it seemed that Charlie couldn't live without her and after 3 weeks later he was back grovelling, on his knees, begging to be given another chance. (Lizzy was pretty sure that Darcy had a hand in breaking them up but seeing as she had no evidence to support it, she had only told Charlotte about her suspicions. ) Jane, being the sweet pea that she was, took him back almost immediately but that didn't stop Lizzy from threatening to break his face if he dared to break her heart again. Lizzy was pretty sure that he took it seriously because since then he had been the perfect boyfriend to Jane. Although he could be like that because he loves her. Lizzy thought that it was probably the latter. She loved her sisters a lot and didn't want anything bad to happen to them. She thought of her youngest sister Lydia. Once upon a time they had been close but then Lydia grew out of her sweet phase and turned evil as Mary would put it. She really needed to have a girly day in with all of her sisters before she started work. She had really missed them when she was away.

"Oh Lizzy, my baby, I am so happy about you and that Collins boy. You are perfect for each other! I better start planning the wedding for when he proposes. I bet it will be soon seeing as you two knew each other when you were younger. What colour should the flowers be? I was thinking hot pink with... "

"MUM STOP! I have no idea whatsoever about what you're talking about! Me and Collins?! In your dreams! I can't stand that man."

"But...But... He told me that he had got you an interview at the company where he works at and that he knew you would be perfect for the job because of all the time you had been spending with each other." Oh great, her mum sounded like she was going to cry._ I am going to kill Collins when I get the chance. After I have had the interview of course. _

"Sorry mama, Collins and I haven't been spending any time together aside from the roughly minute-long conversation I had with him on the phone when he offered me the interview. Collins and I are a no-no mama. Remember the time I broke his nose? I know that there is a thin line between love and hate but in this case the line is more obese than thin."

"Well you had better not be ringing to tell me that you are not coming to the party then because that god awful lying man already told me that your interview is on Thursday and that means you don't need the weekend to prepare. Don't even try it with me young lady. I will see you on Sunday, sweetie. Love you. Maybe I can set Collins up with your great aunt Hilda. That's what he gets for lying to me about the possibility of grandbabies..." Lizzy shuddered. Collins should know by now never to trick her mother. It was a lesson that she had learnt the hard way. Maybe she could use Collins unrequited "love" to her advantage to secure herself the job. Was she really willing to do that just so she could shove it in a Darcy's face that she had a job? Yes. She was.

* * *

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	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own any of Jane Austen's characters. Unfortunately :(

Much love to my lovely Beta magicaltimetravel! I wouldn't be able to do this without her!

* * *

Chapter 4:

"Charlotte, I need help!"

"Why?

"I have a job interview. You have a job. Or have you forgotten that? Seeing as you never, you know, go into work."

"Ha ha, Lizzy. Do you want my help or not?"

"Yes please! Can you come over now? Or are you too busy working your ass off like a good little daughter?" Lizzy remarked sarcastically

"Dude, if you didn't want me to help you, you could have just said! I mean I do have better things to do you know"

"Like what..."

"You know..."

"Drinking?"

"Basically."

"I'll see you in an hour then."

...

"Chazza!"

"Lizza!" Charlotte and Lizzy affectionately hugged each other like they hadn't seen each other in years even though they were with each other yesterday. You can imagine how much they hugged when Lizzy came back from Ghana. And how long it took for them to let go.

"So you're going to help me kick the metaphorical ball out of the metaphorical park?"

"Hell yeah! We are going to get you a job and then I actually have an excuse to go out partying!"

"All you think is about partying, right?"

"In essence."

"Okay, let's do this."

"Every time you answer a question... I mean knock the ball out of the park, I'll... Can we think of a better thing to say than knock the ball out of the park? I mean we are English. Why not say hit the ball out of a cricket pitch?"

"We could I guess. I think that we say it because American culture has spread far and wide... we are going off topic. Let's just stick with hit the ball out of the park."

"But..."

"Char! We are going very off topic here. Concentrate already."

"Yeah sorry, as I was saying, when you answer the questions well I will give you a prize."

"What type of prize? I mean... I'm not a dog Char."

"Really?"

"Charlotte!"

...

"Okay, so the questions will focus on three things. Your work history, stuff about you, and the new job and company. So I will ask you some questions for each and you need to answer them as best you can. Afterwards we will go through each one and compile the perfect answer that will guarantee you the job."

"You are a good friend Charlotte."

"I am. Now, first question..."

...

"No more, I beg of you. I don't think I can handle any more questions after that barrage!"

"Ha ha. Don't worry Liz you will be fine. A person with half a brain would recognise how amazing you are. Seeing as Collins does have half a brain, you will be fine!"

"I hope so. I don't think I can handle staying at home another day. It just makes me think about... things that I don't want to speak about, let alone think about." Sigh. "People say that heartbreak gets easier with time but apparently that doesn't apply for me. "

"Don't even think about that scumbag, Liz. He ain't worth it, okay? Trust me."

"I trust you."

"Good because if I was you, I wouldn't, but I'm not you, so good call!" Charlotte was trying desperately to make Lizzy think of something, anything else but it wasn't working very well.

"Ever since Darce brought it up, it's the only thing I can think about. I know I shouldn't but..."

"You don't need to be like Superwoman or anything Lizzy. I'm your best friend for a reason! You can tell me things that you don't want to tell other people. Heck, you don't even have to tell me. You have your sisters!"

"I know. I just don't want to burden them. Let's forget about it. It's putting a dampener on our evening. I just want to forget about it."

"Doctor Who?"

"Doctor Who."

"Shots?"

"Shots."

...

"Charlotte. Charlotte! CHARLOTTE! CHAR!"

"What, what, what, wh..."

"Don't fall back asleep. Wake up numnuts. Your phone is going off and it won't shut up. Make it shut up." Lizzy said from underneath her pillow. Maybe the shots hadn't been such a good idea."

"Hello?" Charlotte almost shouted, answering her phone

Lizzy swore multiple times before settling with a "Shhhhh, too loud. Hangover."

"Oh yeah, sorry. NO I WANT TALKING TO YOU. IF I WAS TALKING TO YOU, YOU WOULD KNOW. YOU KNOW WHAT, WE'RE OVER!"

Lizzy groaned. Charlotte was talking much too loudly and perkily for a person who had been doing shots just a few hours ago.

"I didn't even know you had a boyfriend, Char."

"I don't. Not anymore. He was too clingy anyway. I mean I only met him 2 weeks ago and then all of a sudden he was calling me every day and asking me how I was, what I ate, who I saw and stuff like that. I told him to back off so many times but god, nothing stops this guy. I'm just happy I was smart and didn't invite him back to mine when I first met him. It's always the good-looking ones," she sighed.

"You have all the bad luck." Lizzy commented sarcastically .

Charlotte, choosing to overlook Lizzy's sarcasm, said, "Yeah. Yeah, I do. Hey, is Jane back?"

"I didn't hear her come in last night but that just might be due to the fact that I was dead to the word because of the shots a few hours ago. She probably got in after her date with Charlie. "

"Ah, isn't it cute that even though they have been together for 6 years they still go on date nights."

"4 years." Was Lizzy's muffled response.

"Whut?"

"Jane argues that as he broke up with her after they dated for a year, it doesn't count."

"So that makes it 5 years... Where did the other year go?"

"Seeing as he spends a month or two in the States every so often, they aren't technically together then she says. So that knocks it down to 4 years."

"Wait, hold on. Does that mean when Charlie is abroad, Jane is technically a free agent?"

"That's how I see it. But apparently not."

"What?! That doesn't make sense at all."

"It doesn't, I agree. You're the lawyer, you go talk some sense into her. You will probably do a better job than I did."

"Remind me I... Are those pancakes that I smell?"

"Smells like it, wait hold on. Don't you dare eat all of the pancakes! Char! **Charlotte!**"

...

After finally lifting herself out of bed, Lizzy shook off her drowsiness and (she hoped) her hangover and went into the kitchen. Startled by the rare sight of a seemingly shell shocked Char standing in the doorway to the kitchen, she playfully poked her in the ribs and whispered ,"What are you staring at?"

"Are you... did you... Look!" Charlotte pointed into the kitchen.

"Oh my god!" Lizzy whispered as loud as she could without alerting the person in the kitchen to the fact that she and Char were there.

"Quick get your phone, let's take pictures before he realises that we are here."

"I don't need pictures. I don't think I can ever forget this moment. It will be engraved in my mind until the day I die." Lizzy said back but she obediently got her phone and started snapping pictures of the unaware Charlie.

"That's enough?"

"Yeah, that's enough. Now let's let your future brother-in-law know that we are here."

"Ahem!"

"Oh crap, hey Lizzie. Charlotte."

"Hey Charlie. How did you end up in my kitchen wearing my sisters pink frilly robe that only goes up to your thighs?"

"Ummm well..." Aw, poor Charlie was going red, matching his bright red hair.

"It's fine, Charlie. Make us pancakes and we will forget this ever happened."

Charlie smiled and gestured to the mountain of pancakes already drenched in honey in front of him, "Help yourselves. I'm going to go get dressed before, you know, Jane wakes up."

"Do you think we should tell him that we have photographic evidence of him in the robe."

"Or we would quickly Photoshop him into some frames and print them off leaving them in the kitchen for when Jane wakes up?"

"Oh, Ms Bennet, you are diabolical. Let's do it."

For the next 10 minutes Lizzy and Charlotte indulged their childhood selves and photoshopped images of Charlie, printing them out and spreading them around the kitchen surfaces and using magnets to stick them on the fridge.

"They're coming. They're coming." Charlotte hurriedly said from her position as lookout.

"Quick. Quick. Eat the pancakes and look like you haven't done anything."

"Good morning Char and Liz - What the hell?!" Charlie saw the pictures and promptly left the room.

"Hey Jane. How was date night?" Lizzy asked, her efforts at keeping a straight face more apparent than she'd like. Behind both Lizzy and Charlotte were badly photoshopped pictures of Charlie Jane's pink frilly robe; meeting the Prime Minister, on an over 50's cruise, out with Benedict Cumberbatch (you can guess whose fault that was,) and even one with him on stage with the Village People.

"Lizzy! That wasn't very nice," said Jane in her I - can't – believe – you – have – done – this –you – are – in – so – much – trouble - voice. Which was highly effective seeing as she spent most of her time practicing it on primary school kids - Jane was a teacher at a primary school.

"I can't believe you would do this!"

"In all fairness it was me, as well," Charlotte piped up obviously upset that Jane hadn't figured out that she was one of the culprits too.

"Delete the whole folder. Now!"

"Fine fine. Deleting it see. They're gone off my computer now. Happy?"

"Yes very. I'll go get Charlie back." Jane gave them one more disapproving look before going to find Charlie and tell him that he could come back in without risking further embarrassment.

"Are you going to tell her that we have copies on your phone?" Charlotte intrigued.

"Nope. We can use it as leverage someday."

"Hehe..."

* * *

Guys, I am not happy about the lack of reviews! More please!

I have decided to update every Wednesday, so watch out for that.

You know the drill people; review, favourite and follow.

Thanks to all the people who already have, it makes me very happy and inspires me to write.

So... keep them coming!


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own any of Jane Austen's characters. Unfortunately. :(

Much love to my lovely Beta magicaltimetravel! I love her a lot.

* * *

Chapter 5:

"Jane, I can't find my... Jane! Janieee!" Lizzy was frantically looking for her suit. She had woken up late and now had only an hour to get dressed and take a taxi to her interview. She was cutting it fine and she knew it.

"Lizzy, what is the matter? Are you alright? Hold on, you look weird."

Lizzy knew how she looked. She had her toothbrush in her mouth, she was trying to brush her curls into something that looked even remotely professional while simultaneously attempting to find her suit. The suit that was the only thing in her wardrobe that looked professional. It was also her only suit.

"I can't find my suit. I know it is here... somewhere. Jaaaane!" Lizzy whined. This was a already turning out to be a very bad day and her interview with Collins hadn't even started yet! She hoped it wasn't as bad as her dreams had suggested. Well, they were more like her nightmares.

"I think it's in the - Just wear another one... You haven't got another one, have you?"

"I haven't had the time or the money and I didn't necessarily have to wear suits in Ghana did I? Jaaaane... Please help me!" Lizzy pleaded.

"Lizzy... fine. Finish brushing your teeth and your hair while I go and get you one of my suits. I'll make you some tea and breakfast too. Hurry up and go and get ready, Pemberley is near my school so I can give you a lift."

"Thank you, Janie. I love you! I'd better get ready to go into the lion's den... wait, not a lion. He's more like a really annoying puppy that you just can't get rid of. Only not adorable... at all."

...

So that was how Lizzy found herself for the second time in the week waiting to be interviewed. Although this time she knew who her interviewer was. And she was not that happy about it. At least with Darcy she knew what was coming, but with Collins anything was possible.

"Eliza! I am so happy that you could make it! Please follow me!" Collins had popped out of nowhere and given her a fright. The man was insufferable. She remembered the crush that Charlotte had had on him. She shuddered at the memory. She had been able to snap Charlotte out of it with some sharp words about the stupidity of the man and she had rejoiced when Char had finally stopped pining after Collins. That had been a terrible few months.

"Eliza it does not do to dawdle. Come." She was tempted to say that she was not a dog but she remembered that she was here to get a job. The secretary at the desk flashed Lizzy a sympathetic smile. At least she was not the only one who found that man infuriating.

"Sit down Eliza. Thank you for coming. Please do not think of this as an interview..."

Lizzy immediately interrupted him. "Wait. Is this an interview or not?" She was not going to stay here if she didn't have to.

"Well it is. I guess..."

"Well if it is, I would very much like if we were able to keep this as professional as possible."

"Eliza you are ever the professional! Of course I will respect your wishes and do as you ask. But when I marry I would hope that my partner would do as _I_ say." Collins placed extra emphasis on the I. It took all of Lizzy's strength to not roll her eyes at Collins' not so subtle hint. This was going to be a very long interview.

...

"How would you describe the pace at which you work?"

"I am very focused on my work, and consequently, am able to work quickly but I do keep a steady pace, which enables me to check my work as I go along, preventing problems from arising..."

...

"How would you deal with challenges? "

"I am motivated by challenges, have the ability to effectively meet challenges, and have the flexibility and skills necessary to handle a challenging job..."

...

"Describe your ideal boss."

"My ideal boss would be someone who respects my ability to work independently but at the same time has knowledge of what I am currently doing..."

...

Overall Lizzy was happy at the way she answered the questions that Collins asked her. She was feeling very confident and was even pleased about Collins acceptance and accordance with her plea for professionalism.

"Are there any questions that you would like to ask me?" Collins asked Lizzy.

There was one question that was burning a hole in her tongue but she didn't want Collins to see it in a different light than the way she meant it in.

"Yes, there is just one. Do you know who my boss would be if I got the job?" Taking a deep breath, "Would it be you?" There, she'd said it. She hoped against hope that it wouldn't be him.

"No, unfortunately it would not be me." She barely held back a squeal of delight at that admission.

"Are you alright?" Collins said peering at her with a quizzical look on his face.

"Yes, I'm fine. Do carry on"

"Yes of course. As I was saying I am only here on loan from the sister company of Pemberley Publishing, De Bough Enterprises. I do not know if you have heard of it or of the owner, my esteemed patroness Mrs. De Bough but it is a highly respected company."

"Oh, okay."

"Well anyway, I will call you when we have come to a decision. Thank you for coming." Lizzy breathed a sigh of relief. He wasn't going to do anything inappropriate! All the worrying that she had been doing wasn't needed! Both Lizzy and Collins started to get up.

"Thanks for the opportunity and I..." Suddenly Collins grabbed her to him, squeezing her ass in the process and kissed her. On the lips. Hard.

All Lizzy was thinking was "Do not punch him. Do not punch him. I repeat, do not punch him"

After what seemed like a year Collins finally released her.

"I have been waiting to do that. I am happy that you are acknowledging my love and are finally reciprocating it! I will disregard your application because obviously as my wife your only job will be raising our children and keeping the household in top condition. My esteemed patroness – I mentioned her before – has been saying for a long time that a married man is much better than a single man. "

_Oh my god! He seriously thinks that I am going to marry him just because, for once, I didn't punch him when he kissed me! He is delusional!_

"Slow down. Collins. 1) I will never marry you! I do not know how to say it to you for you to realise I will never in a million years marry you! and 2) you better not withdraw my application for the job or I will sue you for sexual harassment. I don't think that your most esteemed patroness will want someone who has a history of sexual harassment on her payroll, do you?!

"I... well... errr..."

"I will be waiting for your call on whether or not I got the job or not! And I **will** know if you do withdraw my application, so you better not!" she didn't know how she would find out but Collins didn't know that. She grabbed her briefcase and stormed out of an interview room for the second time that week. Events were definitely repeating themselves this week.

...

When Lizzy reached home, there was a message on her and Jane's answering machine. She pushed the button to listen to it, curious.

"Eliza this is... errr... Mr Bill Collins. I was just ringing to inform you that after talking to my superiors, we have decided to give you the job. I have already sent the contract to you and details for, if you choose to accept the job that it, when you would start and the hours you would work etc... Please send it back as soon as possible. If you accept that is. I would also like to say that the... _Thing _that happened earlier, I would like very much for it to be forgotten. And to conclude, I am leaving to go back to my job at De Bough Enterprises so you won't be seeing me at Pemberley any time soon. "

She got the job! Lizzy jumped in the air! _I can't believe it! I got the job even though I threatened to sue him! That was probably the reason I got the job. Like her mother says don't look a gift horse in the mouth. _Lizzy immediately called Charlotte.

"Char! Guess what?! I got the job! Well there is more to it than that but... how about I meet you at the club on your street so we can celebrate! Yeah, it was a little bad. More than a little. I'll meet you at the club."

* * *

You know the drill people; review, favourite and follow. Thanks to all the people who already have. They make me very happy :D

Don't worry! Darcy will definitely be in the next chapter!


	6. Chapter 6

Hey guys! i couldn't sleep so I decided to upload even though it is 3am. You guys wanted Darcy sooooo... I give you Darcy!

* * *

Disclaimer: I do not own any of Jane Austen's characters. Unfortunately. :(

Much love to my lovely Beta magicaltimetravel! Sometimes I wonder if she actually reads my loving messages at the top of each chapter but I have a feeling she doesn't. :(

* * *

To clarify: Lizzie interviewed for two different jobs at two different companies, PA to an exec at De Bourgh Enterprises and junior editor at Pemberley Publications (the job she got). Hope that clears up any confusion!

* * *

Chapter 6:

"Errr... Char, get off me."

"Don't wanna..." mumbled Charlotte. She had decided to crash at Lizzy's instead of her flat because Lizzy's flat was closer to the club. Lizzy was now regretting that decision.

"Char get off me. I can't sleep with the fattest ass on the face of the planet, also known as your fat ass, suffocating me!"

"Hey, I work hard for this ass! This is a great ass. It is a million pound ass."

"You got that right... It is definitely worth a fair few pounds."

"I know!"

"You don't get it, do you?" Lizzy said shaking her head in astonishment. It was amazing how one moment Char was the smartest person in the room and next... She didn't even understand a brilliant insult , if Lizzy did say so herself.

"Lizzy! Charlotte! Get up! Don't the two of you remember?" Jane interrupted looking bright as a daisy._ How was she so perky in the mornings? Sometimes I wish she wasn't. But if she wasn't then I guess she wouldn't be my favourite sister._

"What didn't we remember?" Char said finally getting her ass off of Lizzy's body.

"Guys! I can't believe you went out drinking the night before you are supposed to... Well go out drinking again!"

"Char, do you have any idea what Jane is on about?" Lizzy asked struggling to lift herself off her bed.

"I heard drinking and then I blacked out."

"And I'm guessing that, usually, you drink and then black out." Jane dryly remarked.

"Oh burnnnn... " Both girls echoed childishly.

"Ha. Ha. Remember today is the joint bachelor and bachelorette party of Emma and George?"

"Emma and George?"

"Emma Woodhouse and George Knightley." Jane said slowly, giving them time to let it sink in.

"Oh yeah..." Both girls said together again.

"Yay! We have another chance to go drinking!" jane shook her head and backed out of Lizzy's room.

"Is that the only thing you think about?!"

"Basically..."

"Go and have a shower, I'm going to go tell Jane I got the job." She heard Char mumble a response and walked out of her room into the kitchen.

...

"Party! Yeah! Wooooo!"

"Char, calm."

"Hey guys!" Emma called, walking over to them. Emma had gone to the same university as the girls and had asked Char, Jane and Lizzy to be bridesmaids alongside her sister Isabel. She was getting married to a childhood friend, whose brother had married Isabel. She was also an avid match maker. Needless to say many times had her "perfect couples" not had the perfect relationship. She had even tried to set up Darcy and Lizzy! Obviously it hadn't worked as well as Emma would have wanted, but many people had said it was a success. Seeing as Darcy and Lizzy hadn't killed each other. Yet.

"Hey Em! Happy joint bachelor and bachelorette party!"

"Thanks. You know it's only joint because I don't trust George!"

"Good call. I have heard many stories about what goes on at bachelor parties..." Lizzy said already scanning the room to find a comfortable place to sit for the rest of the night. She wasn't one of those people who thought that the way to get rid of a hangover was to drink it off. She had already been hung-over too many times for this past week.

"Don't you dare!" Char threatened dragging Lizzy towards the bar.

"What."

"Sit out! This is a bachelorette party! It is practically mandatory to get drunk and spoon guys!"

"It is?"

"Yes! Now get these shots down you!"

...

"Pssst... Lizzy... Lizzy... Lizzy... Lizzy!" Char drunkenly nudged Lizzy in the ribs. "He is here! Look! Snobby Mr. Douchey is here!

"What?! What is he doing here! Is he stalking me? I bet he is, isn't he is?! Well I am going to give him hell. Snobby Mr Douche gonna be in trouble..." She trailed off. Okay. Maybe Lizzy was a tiny bit drunk too. Tiny bit was a tiny bit of an understatement... Lizzy took another swig off her martini and sauntered up to Darcy.

"You." She said poking him in the chest. "You are following me, aren't you?" She tried to poke him again but it didn't work as well as she would have liked seeing as he grabbed her finger. His hands were warm underneath hers.

"Elizabeth, are you drunk?"

"Nooooooooo... Anyway what has it got to do with you. And you didn't answer my question. Why. Are. You. Here?" Shaking herself free and jabbing him on each word for emphasis. Lizzy's head was starting to spin; all she could think about was how hard his chest is. _Does he work out? Does Darcy have abs?!_

Darcy raised an eyebrow. _Oops I must have said that out loud._

"Ha Ha. Darce don't just stand there introduce me!" _Who the hell said that?!_

"Elizabeth this is Richard Fitzwilliam, my cousin, and Rich this is Elizabeth, only slightly drunker than usual."

"Hey, I am not drunk you you.. you... Thing!"

"Thing? Really?! Elizabeth, how drunk are you?"

"Shuddup! Answer my question or I ...I ... I will hurt you!"

"You don't remember? God. You must be drunk. I am a groomsman with Bingley, remember? George is a friend of ours. You know George, right? The groom. The one having the bachelor party. The one who is going to marry Emma. Emma your friend, Emma. The one having the bachelorette party."

"Oh yeah..." Lizzy started to sway on her feet. _God. I must be drunk. And here, I thought all my university years drinking with Charlotte had given me a high tolerance for alcohol. But apparently not._

"How much did you used to drink with - I am guessing your friend - Charlotte to be that tolerant?" Richard asked. _Oh crap. Did I say that out loud?_

"Yes. You did." Darcy said.

"I'm sorry but us lowly middle class beings get drunk now and again! You should try it you know, cutting lose! Dingbat." She mumbled._ I do not feel well._

"Is that Charlotte over there? Come on, let's go over." Not waiting for a response, Darcy grabbed Lizzys arm and practically dragged her over to where Jane and Char were sitting. "Rich come on!" Darcy said over his shoulder to the man he had called Rich.

"Hi! I'm Rich and you are?" Rich said to Charlotte.

"Not interested."

"Oh sweetie. I have all night to change that and trust me, I will."

"Oh really?" Charlotte said suddenly sobering up. She looked Rich up from top to bottom and smiled._ He's not going to know what's hit him. _Charlotte was like a bull dog in a China store when it came to relationships. The longest relationship that Char had ever had lasted 3 months.

Richhad light brown hair and was tall but not as tall as Darcy's 6 foot 3 inches. He was handsome but Lizzy thought that he wasn't as handsome as Darcy. _I am too drunk. Darcy handsome?! Ha! ... I think that I need another drink._

"Oh, Darce." He made a face. "Guess what?" Not giving him a chance to answer, she continued, "I got a job! A good job! A better job than the one I interviewed for with you! I am now the newest junior editor at Pemberley Publishing House! So go suck on that you stupidly tall man... boy... thing!"

"Hey Darcy, ummm isn't Pemberley your..."

"Shut up Rich."

"Yeah shut up Rich, I can think of other things that you can do with your lips." Char flirtingly announced.

Lizzy started to zone out what was happening and started to concentrate on Darcys lip. His perfectly symmetrical lips that were begging for her to bite. Or kiss. Or even both. _I wonder what his lips will feel like on mine. Or any other part of me. Maybe I should try it. Just grab his face and put my lips on his! Like Collins did to me!_ Lizzy shuddered at the memory. It was definitely not something that she wanted to remember any time soon. _Should I? Shouldn't I? I haven't had this much difficulty making a decision since the time I decided to leave Ghana. Maybe I should just kiss him._

"Lizzy are you alright? Come on let's go and leave these lovebirds in peace and get you some water." Lizzy looked over at the supposed "lovebirds" and saw that Char and Rich were making out. _That didn't take a long time._

Darcy and Lizzy made their way over to the bar. _I can't take it anymore. _

So she did what she had been imagining doing for the past 10 minutes. She grabbed Darcy's bowtie and pulled his lips down to hers.

* * *

You know the drill people; review, favourite and follow. Thanks for all the reviews :) If I don't get anymore, well.. *shakes fist in air* there will be hell to play ;)


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I do not own any of Jane Austen's characters. Unfortunately. :(

Lots of love to my lovely Beta magicaltimetravel :)

* * *

~~~ Three years earlier ~~~

* * *

Chapter 7:

"Jane I got the job! I got the job!" Lizzy exclaimed, jumping up and down with glee.

"Lizzy! This is fantastic. I didn't even know you'd applied to anything like this!"

"Well, I thought why not? I didn't think that I would even get it! I mean I have no experience teaching! I can't believe it! I am going to be teaching English to kids in Ghana for 3 years! I could be there longer if they like me!"

"I can't believe it! This is unbelievable! I'm going to miss you so much Lizzybean," Jane beamed, clutching her little sister to her in a hug.

"Janie I'm going to miss you to! But we can write to each other and we can call and text and Skype! We won't be out of contact or anything. This is great!" Lizzy did her trademark happy dance, which was more like a weird little wiggle than a dance. Lizzy's dancing skills left much to be desired.

"I'm going to go tell my new boyfriend!" She said in a sing-song voice.

Everything was great in Lizzy's life. She had recently graduated from Cambridge with a first, she never had to see Darcy again (except for at social events where she could hopefully evade him,) she had an amazing new boyfriend, and to top it off she now had an equally amazing job! Lizzy was unbelievingly happy!

_Now all I have to do is tell my boyfriend. Sigh. This may be hard. We can do long distance. Right? Right?!_

...

"Hey sweetie. How are you?"

"I'm great. What about you? You sounded excited about something on the phone," her boyfriend asked. Sigh. Lizzy never got tired of thinking of him as 'her boyfriend.'

"I'm well... I don't know how to say this but, errr, remember that job I was telling you about? Teaching kids to read and write English in Ghana? Well, I got it. "

" Lizzy that is great! I can't believe it. I knew you would get it. I hoped you wouldn't because you would be in a different continent than me but..."

"You didn't want me to get the job?"

"That's not what I'm saying Lizzy. Don't twist my words." Lizzy mumbled a soft sorry.

"Just don't do it again, okay?" She nodded her head in agreement.

"I was thinking that if you did get the job, I could go with you!" Lizzy's jaw dropped. _He wants to go with me._

"Lizzy, close your mouth. You're letting flies in." She mumbled her second sorry for the evening.

"You could get me a job. I mean I am a swimming coach so maybe I could teach the kids sports. And if I you give me a recommendation then I will definitely get the job!"

" You can't be sure that you will get the job."

" You said that you thought that your interviewer liked you. You weren't lying to me, were you? 'Cause i don't think I can be in a relationship with a liar." Lizzy's boyfriend threatened, already starting to stand up.

"No, wait! I wasn't lying, I swear. I'll call her as soon as Iget home and tell them about you. You will definitely get the job."

"Thanks Liz. Let's eat."

...

"I can't believe that I'm in Ghana!" Lizzy said, stepping of the plane. Jane and Lizzy had had a tearful goodbye until Lizzy's boyfriend had reminded her that they needed to go. She had been able to convince her new boss that her boyfriend, regardless of his lack of experience, would be the perfect sports teacher. _He was always looking out for me._

"You can't believe _we_ are here, you mean."

She flashed him an apologetic smile. "You know what I mean." She said going onto her tiptoes to plant a kiss on his mouth. He had told her before that he didn't like it when she kissed his nose or cheek, so she always made sure to kiss him on his mouth.

...

"I'll miss you."

He smiled in return. "See you soon Liz."

She was going to go home to see her family and tell them the wonderful news. She had been in Ghana for the past year and she had loved it , even though she hadn't been out much as she would have liked. Her fiancee - she loved saying that word - had said he wanted her all to himself. She was going to miss him a lot but she was only going for 2 weeks so she would be seeing him soon.

...

"What are you trying to tell me, Georgie?"

"I'm um... Lizzy I swear I'm not lying! He is bad. He used me to get back at William. He controlled me, he wouldn't let me go out and at the time I thought it meant that he loved me. I was stupid but I was 15 and in love. But he wasn't in love with me Lizzy. Trust me, please. He only wanted my money and something to shove in Williams face! William got me a great therapist and I can give you her number and - "

"Stop Georgie. Just stop. I can't deal with this. He doesn't control me Georgie. He definitely doesn't."

"Really? Lizzy when is the last time you went out on your own?" she didn't answer, instead choosing to grab her bag and leave the restaurant.

...

Lizzy was on her flight home and, though reluctant to believe it, was still seriously thinking about what Georgie had been saying. George had told her that he had been in a relationship with Georgie but she had never known how incredibly young Georgie had been. _Had he hurt Georgie? Does he control me? Sure I haven't been out as much as I would have wanted but he said it was because he wanted to stay in with me, that it wasn't safe outside. _But while she was saying goodbye to Jane when she first came over to Ghana, he had pulled her away saying that they had had to go. _But we were early and he had the nerve to shrug when I had questioned him about it._ It all made sense now. That bastard. She'd never thought that she would be in an abusive relationship. Well, no more.

...

"But Lizzy!"

"Tell me the truth! Did you or did you not date Georgie Darcy at only 15 years old when you were 19?!"

"I didn't! She was obsessed with me! I told all of this to you. Darcy refused to give me my inheritance and then Georgie contacted me saying that Darcy was being obnoxious and she wanted to leave. I convinced her to stay, saying that if it came to much for her, she could always come and visit me! I would never take advantage of a 15 year old!

"Liar! Get the hell out of my flat, you jackass! Now! And take your ring with you! I will never marry you in a million years."

...

"Hey Tara, what's the matter?"

"We have a different sporty teacher, Miss B. Me like the other one. It don't matter now. Did you know that..." Lizzy started to blank out of the rest of the conversation. _He left?! I can't believe that scumbag. Well I'm not going to leave. I'm not going to leave these kids when I have just gained their trust, like he did. They mean more to me than he has or ever could have meant to me. The kids will _always_ mean more to me than him... I can't believe he used me._ A tear ran down Lizzy's face. Unfortunately, this would not be the first tear that she would shed over that lying abusive bastard.

...

"That's great, Lizzy! I can't believe that you have been asked to stay on. I mean I can believe it because you are great and amazing and -"

Lizzy interrupted Jane, "Jane you don't need to do that. I'm fine now. Honestly."

"Lizzy I don't need to do that, I want to. I should have told you what I thought of him the moment I laid eyes on him. I hated him. I hated the way he would put you down. I hated the way he tried to change you. Mary, Kitty and I have decided that if you want, we will track him down and hurt him for hurting you."

"Haha, Jane. That I would love to see. How will you hurt him? Beat him to death with kindness." Lizzy joked trying to keep their conversation light. When she had rung her sisters to tell them that she was now a free agent, they had been unnervingly sympathetic and had rang her everyday to make she was alright. Over the past two years, they had been there for her. It had seemed they had had their own suspicions about him and were going to voice them to her just before she had broken up with him.

"But seriously Jane, I don't think I am going to take it. I need a change of scenery and if I am honest, I miss my amazing sisters. And that even includes Lydia. I think that coming back home will be a good thing. Obviously I will have to find a job and a flat but I will start looking now. Hopefully I will have a new flat to go home to when I leave Ghana in a month's time."

"No."

"No?"

"You are going to be living with me now. I have a spare room and you won't have to pay rent until you find a job."

"I couldn't Jane, it wouldn't be fair to you."

"Lizzy please. If you live with me then at least I can make sure that that you are alright. I know that you say that you are but this way I can know for definite. Do you really want me ringing you and texting you every single day?"

"I guess not..."

"Then it is final. You are moving in with me. I have got to go. But I will speak to you soon, okay Lizzybean?"

"Ok Janie. Talk soon. Bye."

"Bye." After her talk with Jane, Lizzy started thinking about... Him. How in love she had been. How she had been willing to change herself for him. _That's it. No more men for me. I am never going to allow myself to fall in love ever again. I am not going to let someone get close to me and then find ways to hurt me. But I guess that the situation that I am in now is my own fault. Darcy did warn me against him. Darcy had said that his sister had been hurt by the same man. _But at the time she had not known that Georgie was his sister. When she had realised that Georgie was Darcy's sister, she hadn't connected the dots with what Darcy had told her. When she had first met Georgie it had been on her graduation day and she had been a breath of fresh air, however looking back on it now, Georgie had been shy and unwilling to talk to anyone other than Charlie and her brother. It had taken some effort on Lizzy's part to get her out of her shell. But as soon as she had done that, they had been exchanging numbers and promising to meet up.

Lizzy sighed. At least neither of them would be hurt by that scumbag again. He would never be able to hurt her or anybody close to her ever again. She never wanted to see his face. She never wanted to hear his name. He was dead to her.

George Wickham was dead to her.

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You know the drill people; review, favourite and follow.

Sorry that I am updating a little later than usual but you have no idea how hard this chapter was to write. Hope you guys forgive me because of it.


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I do not own any of Jane Austen's characters. Unfortunately. :(

Lots of love to my lovely Beta magicaltimetravel :)

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Chapter 8:

"Char, I don't want to talk about it, okay?!"

"But Lizzy, you kissed Darcy and don't even _try_ to deny that you liked it!"

"I did not! As soon as it happened I ran away because I was ashamed of myself. I kissed snobby Mr. Douchey!"

"Lies! You ran away because you were ashamed of how much you _liked_ it. And you do remember the other name that you gave Snobby Mr. Douchey?"

"Noooo..." She did.

"Liar. It was 'Mr. Ohmygod-no-one-can- be-that-damn-hot'. Isn't that also the first thing you said about Darcy? You know, before you were properly introduced to him and him saying all that crap about you being tolerable and not enough to tempt him and stuff."

"I don't remember saying that about him." But she did remember him saying all that stuff about her being tolerable and not handsome enough. _Who really calls a woman handsome?! I should be happy that he said that about me. It made me realise that he was a dick._

"Well isn't it lucky that I remember enough of it for the both of us!"

"Charlotte Lucas we are NOT going to talk about the fact that Snobby Mr. Douchey or Mr. Ohmygod-no-one-can- be-that-damn-hot had the discomfort of the feeling of my lips on his. _Or_ the fact that he stood completely still the entire time I kissed him. Or the fact that, even though I stuck my tongue down his neck he didn't even freaking kiss me back! This is either because I am so beneath him that he couldn't bring himself to kiss me back or that I am a shitty kisser! Tell me Char, which one is it?!"

"Lizzy..."

"Don't you dare 'Lizzy' me? This conversation is over! You get me?! O - V - E - R. Over!" _I am going to forget about Darcy, forget about that stupid kiss and forget about Darcy not kissing me back. I'm just going to get ready for my new job. _That_ is what I am going to do._

...

"Hello Ms Bennet! I am Mrs Reynolds and I am here to give you the welcome tour to Pemberley Publishing House and answer any of your questions!" _This woman was as jolly as Jane! I didn't think that there was another person in the world that could be as ridiculously optimistic as Janie but apparently I was wrong. Well, at least it's something vaguely familiar about this place._

"It's nice to meet you Mrs Reynolds," Lizzie said truthfully, holding out her hand to shake.

"Please follow me! I'll give you the guided tour and some of the history of the place. Now the current CEO, and majority shareholder, in conjunction with his sister, is Mr Darcy – he is such a charming young man – and he will be the only boss you will be talking to seeing as there are no senior editors left for you to work with. Such a delightful person, when he heard about you he immediately said that he would be happy for you to work under him seeing as there are no more senior editors for you to work with – did I say that before? Oh well. – Anyway along with the tour. Now this area is the..." Lizzy started to blank out. _Why the hell didn't I research the company in more depth when I was interviewing for the position! I'm so stupid. He mustn't have realised that it was me that had got the job. Or maybe he knew it was me and realised that he couldn't fire me because of the contract I signed. He probably thought if he took me 'under his wing' he could get me to quit! The bastard._

"...And this is your office and as you are a junior editor you get an office to yourself. Now this is the end of the tour and if you have any more questions please feel free to ask myself or Mr Darcy who will be coming down to talk to you soon about your job requirements."

"Thanks Mrs R." She sat down on the comfortable swivel chair and flashed a smile at Mrs Reynolds. She could see herself taking a liking to Mrs Reynolds because of the visible joy that she took in life, so clearly like Jane's. As soon as she left Lizzy groaned._ Maybe it is a different Mr Darcy. There must be a thousand Mr Darcys in the world. Although that could be how he knew so much about the Penguin Random House merger. It can't be him. Can it? No. It definitely can't. Can it?!_

Just as Lizzy started going down the route of hysteria, Darcy walked into her office looking _very_ good looking in his suit. _I am finally losing it._

"Lizzy! Do you like your new office? I thought you would like the space and the fact that the sun shines directly through the window." Lizzy hadn't even noticed, she had been that busy hoping that it wasn't _her_ Mr Darcy.

"I- Um- Yeah… It's nice."

"That's great! Now I will give you a quick rundown of your responsibilities even though they were outlined in your contract – just so you know for definite what you are doing. Then I will introduce you to your fellow editors and leave you to your first day of work!" _He seems so happy and ... and ... and do I see a smile gracing his feature? It can't be?! Why would he be happy about me working here? I know. It has nothing to do with me. He must have made another trillion pounds or something. Oh crap has he been talking this entire time? Crap crap crap crap crap._

"...And that's everything. If you need me just ring ahead to my secretary and come up to the top floor where my office is, okay? Bye, Lizzy." He started to leave when she called out to him.

"Darce?" He flinched. "Why would you employ me? You said – and I quote - 'No one in their right mind would hire you.' Why would you hire me when it is clear that you hate and despise me?"

"Hate you? I would never dare hate you, Lizzy" And with that, he quietly shut the door to her office to show that the conversation was over.

_Wait what?! What does that mean? "I don't hate you." Of course you hate me, you jackass! I am beneath you! I am barely tolerable to you! That's it. I am going to forget about his stupid ambiguousness and throw myself into this job. At least if he does try to get me fired somehow, he can't say it is because I don't do my job properly. I'm not going to be able to forget about him now._

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You know the drill people; review, favourite and follow.

Please please please review!


	9. Chapter 9

THIS IS THE FULL CHAPTER!

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Disclaimer: I do not own blah blah blah...

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Chapter 9:

"But Jane, I don't want to go!"

"But she knows that you are back Lizzy!"

"Tell her I'm ill! Say that I am very ill and contagious and I don't want anyone else to catch it!"

"Lizzy! Then Mama will tell me to stay with her and I won't get to see Charlie!"

"Jane, you are a 25 year old women, stop letting your mother control your life and let your favourite sister do it instead!

"Lizzy!"

"Fine but if Collins is there and does something that is inappropriate, I will not be held responsible for my actions."

...

"There she is!" cried the shrill voice of Fanny Bennet, already working her way through the crowd to grip her second child into a bone crushing hug. Even though she could criticise her daughter until the end of time, she still loved Lizzy and would do anything to protect her.

"Hello, Mama. Nice to see you too. Can you please let go of me. I am suffocating. Do you remember Jane? Your other daughter, well she has something to tell you – and it's to do with Charlie!"

"She does! Oh My Lord, did the dear boy propose? I knew he would!" Mrs Bennet ran off in search of Jane. _Maybe I shouldn't have just thrown Jane under the bus like that but at least Mama won't delve into my love life. She won't be happy to know that the only news that Jane had about Charlie was that he had brought her flowers._

"Lizzy over here!" Lizzy looked around but didn't recognise the grinning face of the person who had called her name.

"Um, hi?"

"You don't remember me, do you?" Lizzy shook her head mutely in response.

"I'm Richard Fitzwilliam! Darcy's cousin. Rich, remember? I made out with your friend Charlotte?"

"Oh yeah..."

"Great to see you too. I like you when you are drunk."

"I don't," Lizzy jumped in surprise. _It can't be! I have had to deal with him the whole damn week and when I finally get away from him, he turns up where he is most definitely not wanted._

"Lizzy, how are you?"

"I'm good, thanks Darcy. How about you?"

"I'm good." They stared at each other for what was actually a few seconds but felt like minutes until Rich cleared his throat.

"So, have you heard from Charlotte ever since the errr… Making out session?"

"No! That's the main reason I'm here. I was hoping that she would be too but I haven't seen her so far."

"Then you are not going to like what I am going to say next."

"She's not coming, is she?"

"Yep, today happens to be one of the rare days that her dad makes her go into work."

"I am going to go and drown my sorrows. Maybe chat up a girl or two, to rid myself of this heartache."

"I wouldn't tell my mother that. She will set you up with one of my sisters and trust me when I say her methods are far from subtle."

"Duly noted. Thanks Lizzy, you would have been a great PA."

"Wait, what?"

"You didn't know? Darcy probably didn't tell you but I am an executive at De Bough Enterprises. I was going to conduct your interview seeing as you would be my PA but let's just say that things happened and I ended up in someone else's bed."

"I'm not sure I even want to know…"

"Trust me when I say that you really do not want to know more, Elizabeth," said Darcy with a horrified look on his face. "I heard enough for the both of us."

"It's that bad?"

"Yes. It is."

"It wasn't!" Rich argued, "And come on, Darcy, you can't talk! I can think of a million and one things that you have done that are more embarrassing than anything I've done."

"Ooh, do tell. I need some leverage against my new boss." Lizzy said smiling. _Maybe this thing won't so bad, after all._

"Well there was that one time when he..."

"That's enough Rich," Darcy said, already interrupting his cousin.

Just as Rich opened his mouth to make a remark Darcy said, "Or I will tell Georgie that the reason Lila Tanner doesn't talk to her anymore is because you slept with her and never called her back even though you promised to."

Rish shut his mouth immediately.

"It seems that the adventures of Fitzwilliam Darcy are closed tonight. Well I _have_ left you with a parting gift so I am off to get some food." Rich said sauntering over to the buffet table where she saw her next neighbours friend Clara was. _What parting gift?!_ Then it suddenly dawned on her.

"Your name is Fitzwilliam! I don't believe it. No way!"

"Lizzy please don't make a big deal out of this..." She put her finger to his lips to stop him.

"The only way I will not make a big deal out of this is if you tell me why you never told people what your actual name was and why I shouldn't tell _everyone_ at the office? And I mean everyone."

"I never told anyone because I knew they would react the way you did. It was tradition in my father's family to name a son after the mother's maiden name. My mother's name was Anne Fitzwilliam, hence the Fitzwilliam Darcy."

"Wait. Isn't Rich's last name Fitzwilliam?"

"Yes. Like I said at the bachelorette/bachelor party when you were slightly, umm, inebriated he is my cousin. His father is my mother's brother. And to answer your last question you shouldn't tell anyone at the office because I am your boss. And I can fire you."

Lizzy was gobsmacked. _He is going to fire me?! That sly twisted bastard. I knew he was going to -_

"Lizzy, it was a joke."

_I might kill him. I could get Kitty to help me. She knows about stuff like that, right? If she doesn't she should. What future doctor doesn't know how to kill someone? Wait. Did he say something?_

"Sorry, could you repeat that please?" she asked, in a surprisingly calm voice considering that a few seconds ago she'd thought she was going to have to find a new job.

"I was joking. I'm sorry if you took it seriously. Quite honestly, you are the best junior editor that I have ever had the pleasure of working with. I mean it."

"Thanks." They stood in silence for a few minutes before Darcy suddenly said.

"Will you do me the honour of dancing with me for the duration of the next song? I really am sorry Elizabeth." _Why does he have to be so polite? I wish he'd just grabbed my hand and pulled me into the middle of the room._

"You don't need to dance with me just because you're sorry."

"It's not that," he softly commented, staring at her with the look that he had always looked at her with when they were at university. Before, she'd thought it was because he hated her, but now...

"Sure. Why not?" Darcy took her hand and pulled her softly against him while they swayed to the beat of the song.

_This is weird. Well, awkward's more like it._

_..._

"Elizabeth, meet Denny Smith! He is the son of one of your father's friends. Denny, meet my second daughter Elizabeth. Although I am sure she is not half as handsome as Jane, or even half as good humoured as Lydia. One thing that you _may_ like about her is that she spent 3 years in Ghana teaching! Imagine what my nerves were like when she told me. I couldn't believe it. Mr Bennet had to get my smelling salts!" Lizzy couldn't believe her mother. She was actually 'bigging' her up to this Denny Smith character who was currently leering at her._ Why can't Mama ever introduce me to some nice fellow who won't look at me like I'm meat on a bone?!_ "...My Lizzy is very pretty in her own way..." _Great. Denny smith is not going to think that I'm desperate. Way to go Mama. _"...Lizzy is also extremely fertile which of course she got from me seeing as I have 5 children and..." _There were billions of men on the planet and mama has to pick the... wait what! She didn't! Oh crap she did. Oh crap. Oh crapity crapity crap._

Without waiting for her mother to embarrass her any further she walked, almost running, towards her father's study.

...

"I can't believe she said that Papa! She said, and I quote 'Lizzy is also extremely fertile which of course she gets from me'. Who is their right mind says that?! I couldn't believe it!" Suddenly a baritone laugh erupted from behind Lizzy and she swung round to see Darcy leaning against the doorframe with his shirt rolled up to his forearms. _Damn. His arms are muscly, but not too muscly, and tanned. I like._

"How long have you been standing there?!" Lizzy shrieked. _She took back that thought from before – this was not going well for her._

"Don't worry, not long. Mr Bennet, Mrs Bennet would like you to come out of your study and talk to some of your guests otherwise she will make sure that when she next cleans the house, she will take extra care with your study. Those are her words, not mine."

"I better go Lizbean. We can't have your mother invading our sanctuary now, can we?" Mr Bennet said already walking towards the door to talk with his guests – which basically meant he was going to talk to one of his daughters who were outside enjoying the party instead of the one cringing inside, hating every moment of her life.

"See you later Papa."

"So that's the reason you have been hiding for the last 15 minutes." Darcy drawled, still leaning against the doorframe.

"Yeah it was too embarrassing to stay and listen to my mother try and come back from that."

"Don't worry, I know how you feel..."

"You do?" Lizzy doubtfully returned.

"Your mother tried to set me up with a distant cousin of hers."

"I'm so sorry!"

"It's ok. Just promise me that you won't leave me alone for the rest of this party."

She smiled. "I promise."

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You know the drill...

Here is it guys! Just like I promised! I deleted the other half chapter so I could put the full one up.

If you guys want to ask me question that I will definitely answer please PM me.

Thanks for the reviews and give me more!


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I do not own…

Love my beta a lot but not so much at the moment :P

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Chapter 10:

Over the next few weeks Darcy and Lizzy worked together whilst trying to ignore the elephant in the room. After they had hid in her father's study for the rest of the evening, Darcy had kissed her on the cheek and told her he would see her on the following Monday at work, as usual. Lizzy had been left wondering what her feelings for Darcy actually were. All she had wanted to do when he kissed her on the cheek was ask him to kiss her on the lips. But she knew she couldn't. He was her boss and that would be inappropriate. _Highly inappropriate._

They worked together side by side and Lizzy found it surprising how well they worked together. Darcy on the other hand…

Naturally in this very competitive publishing business, every book that Lizzy was given to edit was fantastic. She still couldn't believe that the most prestigious publishing house was owned by a person so filled with hate for her. And he had good reason to. _I think he's one of the two people that hate me the most in the world. Georgie would be first. _She had tried to mention Darcy's younger sister Georgie and ask about her but she would stop herself every time. There was once a time where Georgie and she were close but over the years they had drifted away from each other, mainly because of Lizzy's denial of the George's involvement in screwing up Georgie's teenage years. She wished that she could ask about Georgie without the unease that make her stomach roll and her head hurt. She badly wished to talk to the younger girl so that she could tell her how sorry she was. But every time she was alone with Darcy at work she could not bring herself to ask for Georgie's number. _Maybe I should ask Mrs Reynolds. She seems to know everything about everyone. I will do that. At least this way it won't get back to Georgie that I have been asking about her. At least I hope. I will have to plan how I broach the subject with Mrs Reynolds. I hope that she doesn't crap I better finish editing this chapter._

The book she was currently reading was called "_First Impressions_," and it was one of the best books she had ever read. The title could use some work but they had time to change it. Darcy had agreed when she had said that she thought the title needed changing. That was another thing that surprised her working at Pemberley. Every time Darcy and she were reading the same book they would have the different opinion on pretty much everything in the book. It was unnerving how many times she would have to defend the books she was editing and the things that she changed in the book. But if he had agreed with her every time she would know that he was not being genuine. This is was the incredible Fitzwilliam Darcy! _Hehe. _

Although there was one thing that she found immensely suspicious. He always visited her in her office. At least every few days he would come into her office and check on her, asking how she was finding Pemberley. _Like the facilities. I bloody love them. What other company has a free gym for employees that has a sauna and a flipping gigantic swimming pool. Not that I've been doing any swimming since… there are also napping pods! This place is like a dream. No wonder it is one of the most successful companies in the world. They know how to treat their employees. _Even Darcy was well liked in the company, not like at university where he alienated everyone with his haughtiness and rudeness. He even had the audacity to say to Caroline (Lizzy shuddered at the name of the pretentious bitch that had convinced herself that Darcy would marry her just because they were from the same class and society._ Really? Who cares about all that crap in these times? ) _that Jane smiled too much. _When had smiling become a crime?!_

_It's not like Darcy ever smiles. Except when he visits me... No, scratch that. _At first she'd thought it was because he was just checking up on his newest editor but after the forth visit in a week she realised why he came._ He thinks I can't do my job properly and he hates me. He hates me for trusting Wickham over him. Even when I'm not with him, George is still able to ruin my life._ _If I ever do tell Darcy that it was Wickham I was engaged too I bet he will say he told me so. It doesn't matter anyway. I don't have the nerve to tell him that the man who emotionally abused his sister was the very man who I was engaged to._

"Hello Eliza." _Caroline?! What the…_

_"_Hey, Caro. I didn't know that you liked books. Oh… I know. It must be because we publish magazines as well as books."

"Haha, Eliza, very funny. You were always the funny one in our little group. Keep up at it though, we both know you need it to compensate for your face, and you are not there yet." _Bitch. _Just before she could respond with some cutting remark about her dress sense – _Orange? Really? – _Darcy appeared in the hallway looking flustered. He took one look at Caroline and then looked at the nearest didn't blame him one bit.

"There you are! I have been looking for you for ages. That horrible Mrs Reynolds wouldn't let me in. I told you to fire her before, did I not? I can't believe the nerve she has, refusing to let me see you. Does she not know who I am?"

"You are only my friend's sister Caroline." Darcy said looking more awkward with every passing minute. Caroline simply smiled. It was quite unsettling.

"I am your best friend's sister and your sister's best friend too! Well anyway I am here now. I need to talk a few things over with you regarding Georgie and I thought we could have lunch while we are talking."

"Is there something wrong with Georgie?" Darcy asked anxiously his eyes filled with fear for his sister.

"Of course she isn't! She is graduating from that university that you made her go to and you haven't even plan her graduation party – I assume you haven't?" Not waiting for a response she continued, "Well isn't it lucky that I have experience in that field… I planned your and Charles' graduation party -"

"- and Lizzy's," Darcy interrupted.

"And Eliza's."

"I'm not sure Caroline, I really don't think that Georgie will want one."

"Of course she will. And seeing as you made her go to university I think you owe it to her! She should have done what I did and not gone to university and become a socialite. It is a very demanding job and I am sure that she would have preferred it rather than doing a _degree_ in music!"

"I can assure you that she wouldn't have preferred it but seeing as I have a meeting in five minutes with the editors I won't be able to convince you otherwise. But if you think that Georgie would like a graduation party then I will have my secretary discuss organising one with you. Just remember to put my name and Elizabeth's on the guest list. Now if you excuse me Elizabeth and I have a very important meeting to go to." Placing a hand on Lizzy's elbow he steered her towards the lift and pressed the button, leaving a gobsmacked Caroline in their wake.

As soon as the lift closed, he sighed.

"I'm sorry about that. She never seems to get the message. She hasn't talked to Georgie in the past month and now she is saying that they are best friends! I'm also sorry about putting you on the guest list without asking. It's just that if I left it to Caroline I would have no one to talk to besides Georgie and I can guess that Caroline will keep her busy which will mean that I will be left with only Caroline to talk to. That is not something I would like happening in the near future. So I guess what I'm asking is please come?"

A still gobsmacked Lizzy was barely able to manage a yes before the lift pinged and the doors slid open.

"Thanks. I will give you the information as soon as I get it. Thanks for not contradicting me when I said that we had an editorial meeting. I just couldn't stand having to go out and have lunch with her. Have a good day." And with that the lift doors closed.

Lizzy worked late that day just in case Caroline was lurking behind any corners. When she got in the lift she saw that Darcy was there too.

"Working late too?" He asked her.

"Yep."

"You should tell your boss not to work you so hard." Darcy commented with a half-smile on his face.

"I will. But you see he works just as hard as me - probably even harder. He usually leaves after me!"

"Your boss must be a workaholic."

"Definitely. Well, this is where I get out. Goodnight!"

"Good night, Elizabeth."

_That's like the tenth time I have ridden down in the lift with him after working late. Shush, Lizzy. It's definitely a coincidence._

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You know the drill…

Just want to say thanks to Lily Draco for always reviewing :) and everyone else too!


	11. Chapter 11

I do not own...

My beta and I have a love-hate relationship :p

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I am sorry that this is late!

Please forgive me!

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Chapter 11:

DARCY'S POV:

I see her every day. Talking to the other editors, drinking tea, looking at the view from her office... I knew she would like it. She loves it here. That's good. It means that she won't be leaving any time soon. I wouldn't want her to leave. I wouldn't be able to see her face every day like I do now. I won't be able to visit her in her office most days. I wouldn't be able to see the beautiful glint in those fine eyes when I disagree with her about something. That fire that is ignited in her when she defends all the changes she has made in the books. The passion that she feels. The love that she feels. It's just not towards me. Oh, God. I'm falling in love again. I promised myself that I wouldn't let my feelings towards her resurface but they have. I love her so much. I love Elizabeth Bennet so much that it kills me for her to think that I hate her. I most ardently admire and love you, Elizabeth. I wish that I could tell her. But I shouldn't. It will mess up our employer-employee relationship. And it is not like I have any other kind of relationship with her to fall back on. She doesn't love me anyway so there is no reason to tell her. It's not like she is going back to Ghana anytime soon. I hope. She left so suddenly last time - I had no time to tell her how I felt. And she was still with that bastard, Wickham. But at least that crashed and burned, seeing as she wound up engaged to someone else in Ghana. She doesn't want some corporate guy who works 10 hour shifts every day. Why would she? Who would? Well… obviously Caroline would, but Caroline will marry anyone who has money and social standing. Elizabeth wouldn't do that. Elizabeth hasn't done many of the things that Caroline has and yet I find myself far more in love with Lizzy than in any feeling I have ever felt for Caroline. Maybe letting Caroline plan Georgie's graduation isn't a good idea. But at least Elizabeth will be there with me. At least, I hope that I managed to convince her to come with me. Maybe getting her to come was a bad idea. She never asks about Georgie and they were good friends before Lizzy left. I don't know what happened but I hope at Georgie's party they will make up. It will be good for Georgie to have Elizabeth as a friend again.

Elizabeth… Sigh. I wish that I could tell her my feelings but she was engaged. Engaged. To someone else. Who wasn't me. She probably wants him back. Mrs B said that the only reason the engagement fell through is because her fiancée had to leave Ghana at the last minute and they didn't think that they could do long distance. Maybe Elizabeth is hoping that he will come back for her someday. And why wouldn't he. She is amazing. But this just means I can never tell her how much I love her. It doesn't mean I can't pine for her in secret. It will be my secret. Just like the fact that I wait for the call from the receptionist on Lizzys floor to ring me and tell me that she is leaving for the day, so I can get the lift and hopefully meet her on my way down. If anybody found out they would think that I am a stalker. Elizabeth hopefully will never find out. After all, even though there is no chance of me ever telling her how I feel, she will never feel the same way back. I want to be with her but I know that she doesn't want me.

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You know the drill by now...

I know it is a small chapter but I really wanted to get this out of the way before I gave you guys the next chapter.

More reviews please!

(and thanks to silentfeathers for pointing out the mistakes. I went back and changed them)


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I do not own blah blah blah..

I kinda love my beta magicaltimetravel but at the same time i kinda hate her...

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Chapter 12:  
"Jane, what do I wear to a graduation party?" Lizzy groaned, her head throbbing from the amount of time she had spent pondering what on earth she could afford to wear to Georgie's party.  
"Lizzy! The party is tonight!" Jane exclaimed.  
"And your point is…"  
"Come on. We'd better go to the shops. Call Charlotte, she can come too."  
"But why can't I wear something of yours?"  
"Because I really have something that is suitable for you to wear to the sort of party this is going to be."  
"Ooh. Dear, sweet angelic Jane has a sarcastic side. Who would have known?" Lizzy said.  
"You, seeing as you are my sister. Now go and put some clothes on so we can go."  
"What's wrong with what I'm wearing?"  
"I'm not going to answer that. Now go and get changed otherwise I am telling Mama that you want her to set you up with someone."  
"I'm not sure I like this new Jane."  
…

"No."  
"Lizzy!" both Jane and Charlotte were reaching the end of their patience with Lizzy.  
"What?! I don't like it. Therefore it goes into the no pile."  
"We're never going to find you a dress if you carry on like this."  
"But I don't like anything!" Lizzy grumbled.  
"I am going to hit you in the face if you don't hurry up and pick a dress!" Char said waving her fist in the air to look threatening. It did not work.  
"Charlotte. There is no reason for you to get aggressive. Let's compromise?"  
"Okay," mumbled Lizzy and Charlotte.  
"Char and I will go to some more shops and pick out a dress for you while you go to Waterstones and browse through some books. What do you think?" Jane said.  
"Fine by me." Lizzy agreed.  
"As long as Lizzy can't criticise afterwards." Char confirmed.  
"Lizzy…"  
"As long as I get more than an hour in the book store?"  
"Deal," Char gave her hand to Lizzy to shake.

...  
"Ready?"  
"Let's just get this over with."  
"Lizzy!  
"What?"  
"We spent ages looking for this dress and we didn't even say anything when you came home with 3 bags full of books."  
"There was a deal on!"  
"Of course there was."  
"Here. Try it on." Jane did her make up while Charlotte did her hair into a beautifully elaborate up do with a slightly messy look to it. Char let out some strands to cup her delicate cheekbones. They left her to get into the dress. She tried it on, closed her eyes so that she didn't see what she looked like and put her hands in front of her so that she didn't walk into anything while she walked out into the living room.  
"Oh my goodness. Lizzy you look amazing." Jane gushed.  
She opened her eyes and saw her dazzling dress. It was a beautiful cream with a split that showed of her legs wonderfully. The embroidery was gold and silver and it trailed up over a shoulder and dangled over her back.  
"Wow. It is umm... Wow. Thanks. You guys… This is a beautiful dress. I love it just as much as I love you two."  
"Group hug!"  
"Charlotte!"

They'd arrived the massive hall that Caroline had chosen for the party. It was a little too flashy for Lizzy's taste but she wouldn't be telling Caroline that.  
She wanted to run away. Can I say that I'm not feeling well and need to go home? Or that I have forgotten to ring Mama and you know how she gets… Jane won't believe me, she knows me too well.  
"Elizabeth." She turned at the sound of her name. Darcy. Damn. He looks good.  
"Darcy. You look nice." She nervously said. He looked too good to be true.  
"Thank you. You look… exquisite. Amazing. Really."  
"Thank you," she mumbled looking at the ground. When she glanced up she saw that he was doing the exact same thing. They were a pair of awkward turtles in a pod.  
"Umm… would you like to talk to Georgie? She was very excited when I told her you were coming." Great. I can't possibly refuse, put like that. Let's do this. Shoulders back, head up, Bennet. You can do this. It might not be as bad as you think.  
"Yes, of course."  
Darcy smiled, took her hand and placed it gently in the crook of his arm , before leading her to where Georgie was confidently mingling.  
"The place looks great by the way."  
"It does? I thought it was too flashy but apparently Caroline knows more about what 21-year-olds want than I do."  
"Girl?" Lizzy said, arching one eyebrow in response.  
"Darn. I mean woman. Sorry. I can't help but think of Georgiana as the pigtail wearing, 14-year-old I'd just become the guardian of. Not the 21 year old woman, just graduated from university."  
"You don't have to explain it to me. I understand. I have three younger sisters, remember?"  
"Yes. Sorry again. Oh, here she is. She doesn't wear her hair in pigtails any more..."  
And she could see. This was definitely not the shy 18 year old girl she remembered. She was truly a 21-year-old woman, and she looked wonderful.  
"Lizzy! Oh my god. You look amazing! I truly didn't recognise you you when I first saw William walking towards me with a woman on his arm!"  
"Georgie, behave."  
"No I will not. My party, my rules. Now go away. Lizzy and I have things to discuss."  
"You do?" "We do?" Darcy and Lizzy asked at the same time, taken aback by her commanding air.  
"Yes we do. Now, shoo."  
"But…"  
"Bye, William!"  
Lizzy could definitely see how Georgie had grown up in the past three years, but before she could launch into her long-winded speech about how sorry she was and how she was sure Georgie could never ever in a million lifetimes forgive her, Georgie pulled her into a fierce hug.  
"You have no idea how great it is to see you! When I heard you were coming back I wanted to talk to you but I couldn't. I didn't think you would have wanted to talk to me after everything that happened with Wickham and I'm so so sorry about everything Lizzy. It's entirely my fault and if you ever need anyone to talk to I am here and…" Lizzy put her hand on top of Georgie's mouth to quiet her down.  
"Can I talk now?" Georgie nodded. "None of what happened was your fault. It was his. And mine. I shouldn't have let myself get charmed by him. I should have known better. And before you say anything, hear me out. I should be apologising to you and, if I could go back and change everything, believe me, I would. In a heartbeat. I promise you that, Gee. I can never forgive myself, knowing that the man who ruined your childhood was someone who I claimed to love. Every time I think of him I want to slap him. For what he did to you and what he did to me. When you told me everything I started to think things through and I realised that I had been taken in. I went back to Ghana and immediately dumped him. He went who knows where, the next day. I haven't seen him since. Nor do I want to. Ever again. I realise now what he did to both of us and I hope that it never happens again. Okay, that's it, I'm done." She finally took her hand off Georgie's mouth.  
"Instead of getting into an argument over who should be sorry, can we please just call it quits and not let what he did get to us?"  
"Deal."  
"Come on, let's dance. I have to enjoy this a little seeing as how much William spent on it. It's way too much, I think, but nobody can argue with a determined Caroline."  
"I couldn't agree more."

* * *

You know the drill...

thanks for the reviews and please keep them coming...

If you guys want to know what kinda dress and hair style i envisioned for Lizzy, PM me and I will give you the links.


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: I do not own...

I hate my beta. nah jokes I love her really. (Or do I?)

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Chapter 13:

"So… Do you want to dance?"

"Dance?" Lizzy repeated.

"Yes, dance. You know, an act of physical movement where you move your feet, usually from side to side, with a partner." Darcy explained.

"Oh, that!"

"Is that a yes?" Darcy enquired.

"Um… Why not?" Lizzy answered nervously.

Darcy took her hand and led her to the dance floor just as the song changed. It was a slow and romantic song. Lizzy blushed. Great. Just my luck that as soon Darceface, my boss, asks me to dance, the song turns all gooey and dreamy. As if that's the relationship that Darcy wants with me.

"Thank you." Darcy said, interrupting Lizzy's thoughts.

"What for?" asked Lizzy.

"Talking to Georgie. She didn't tell me anything you said but I got the impression that you have, well, renewed your acquaintance with my sister. You have no idea how much I appreciate that. And I just thought that you should know that I did not force Gee to complete her degree. She got into Oxford of her own accord, completely without any assistance from me. Aside from the times she made me stay up all night helping her stick things on a piece of card… I'm very proud of her."

"You're a good brother. And don't worry about it. I love Georgie and it's been great to see her again. I will definitely be keeping up this friendship."

"That's good."

They swayed a bit, each deep in their own thoughts. They didn't even realise that the song had ended until someone knocked Lizzy into Darcy when they were 'dancing'.

"Sorry," Lizzy whispered awkwardly.

"It's fine. We should probably get off the dance floor now anyway. Unless you want to do what they are doing…" Darcy said pointing towards a couple of 21 year olds who were… twerking? It looked like they were trying to twerk, at least. Why do people feel the need to twerk? It's even in the dictionary. How far the English language has fallen.

"Haha. Lizzy don't say that in front of Georgie's friends. They may possibly kill you." Darcy said, leading her off of the dance floor. Lizzy blushed. I didn't mean to say that out loud! Oops.

"Liz Liz!" Liz Liz?!

"Rich! Hey, how are you doing?" Lizzy said

"I'm good. Well, that's not true. I'm lonely. Very, very, lonely and…" Rich began.

Knowing where he was going to go with his unsubtle little speech, Lizzy decided to interrupt him. "You want Char's number, don't you?"

"Yes please!"

"Okay, then. Fine. So long as you don't tell her it was I who gave you her number and I don't hear anything that will make me want to dig a hole and crawl into it until you both die so that there isn't a chance of me dying from mortification if I see you. Seeing as you will be dead."

"You drive a hard bargain, Ms Bennet." Rich commented.

"So no. That's fine. Come on Darce, I think that Gee is beckoning us." Turning to leave, Lizzy figured that it would take Rich a total of 10 seconds to decide that he did, in fact, want Char's number.

"Wait! I agree." Rich announced grabbing her wrist to stop her from leaving.

"Give me your number and I will text it to you." Lizzy smiled.

"Here is my business card. My private number is on there for you know… private things." Rich said winking at her. Lizzy shuddered.

"I feel like I'm not the first woman to receive this card with those exact words and that exact wink."

"I thought I wasn't allowed to tell you things that will make you want to dig a hole and crawl into it, waiting for me to die." Lizzy shuddered again.

"Just go. Please. Before I decide that I don't want to give you Char's number." Lizzy said.

"Bye!"

…

That was a good evening. I made up with Georgie, gave a serial womaniser my best friend's number and danced with my boss… And liked it, I guess? It could have been worse. Georgie might not have forgiven me for being a complete and utter idiot, I could have tripped over my dress or worse… I could have been forced to twerk. It would have been like a nightmare come true. But it wasn't. I am so happy that Gee has grown up into such a beautiful, confident woman and I am even happier that she invited me to lunch next week. Well… More like demanded that I see her next week for lunch. I don't remember her being so bossy. She would have thrived doing a degree in business like Darcy. I can definitely see her heading the family business! But at least she isn't the shy nervous girl I remembered. I couldn't believe it when she told me that she now had a design degree from Oxford. Oxford! I can't believe Darcy let her study at Oxford. The nerve of him to allow his sister to go there. Cambridge all the way! Although I guess you can say that he was a good brother for letting Gee do what she needed to do. Getting a flat, making new friends and having a great time is what university is all about and I'm glad that she got the experience. Then again Darcy was always a good brother. Even when he was being a dickhead at university, he was still a good brother. At least I now know why he was an idiot. He had just been duped by his childhood friend and his little sister had been seriously hurt by him. No wonder. Maybe I shouldn't have been so hard on him. But it was so easy to do so. I will have to make it up to him now. I can see why he was such a bitch to Wickham when he

strolled into town and got everyone wrapped around his little finger. Wickham really was a class A bastard.

"We're here, miss."

"Thanks Keith." Lizzy said warmly to the driver who had driven her home. Darcy had sent her home in his town car when he found out that she planning on getting the train back even when she had protested that he would have to come all the way back seeing as Darcy and Gee lived in the opposite direction to her. He had told her not to be so stubborn and accept help once in a while. And it was his fault that she was here, seeing as her practically forced her to come. With that he had called his driver and whisked her away in his car. Not that she objected. She didn't particularly want to get the train in her beautiful dress.

Lizzy grabbed her clutch and walked over to her building, waving at Keith to show that she was safe.

How wrong she was.

Just at the moment that Keith drove off, a shadow moved. Lizzy, seeing the shadow move and preparing for the best, started to unlock her door and step through it. When she got on the other side of the door she quickly shut it only to be blocked by a foot in the door, she pushed harder on the door to unnerve the owner of the foot, hoping that is wasn't one of her neighbours. After a struggle the person on the other side of the door gave an almighty shove and walked in.

"WICKHAM?!"

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You know the drill...

Guys I am so sorry that I didn't update last week! I had been feeling really ill and I didn't have the energy to update.

Thanks for all the favourites, follows and reviews. They make my day!


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I do not own...

Love my beta :)

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Chapter 14:

"Wickham?!"

"Liz, wait! Listen to me."

"No. Get the hell out of here and don't you ever dare come back."

"I am begging you. Listen. Please." The "please" undid her.

"Fine, you have one minute. Go."

"Liz, I am sorry. So, so sorry. I should have told you about Georgie but it was hard for me to do so. I had no idea what you would think of me but I..."

"30 seconds. 29. 28..."

"Liz, I am trying here!" Wickham shouted, his face slightly red from her constant interruptions. Like that was going to stop her.

"25. 24." I'm not letting him control me. Not anymore. He can go fuck himself before that happens.

"Fine. I'm sorry for everything. For lying to you about Georgiana, for leaving Ghana as soon as you found out. I especially shouldn't have done that. I shouldn't have messed around with the kids like that. I mean, I had finally gained their trust and then I just left. That was stupid and unfair and… Just totally and utterly stupid.

Are you kidding me?! Do you really think you don't have anything else to be sorry for?! Jackass.

"Is that all you have to say?" Not waiting for him to answer, she carried on, "Well, I can't say it was good to see you so... Toodles."

"Liz. I didn't come here just to apologise. I wanted to talk to you."

"You just did. Your minute is up. Like I said, toodles!" Lizzy snarled, determined to get him out of her sight. She knew Jane was at home because she had said goodbye to them. Georgie had asked her to stay back and open the presents with her – much to Caroline's chagrin. All I have to do is tell him that Jane is waiting for me and that she will start looking for me with Charlie if I don't turn up.

"I want to get back together."

"Wait, what."

"It has been hell without you. I miss you."

"Sorry, I don't think I quite heard that right. Say it again."

"I want to get back together with you."

"Are you fricking insane?!" she shouted. "There is no way in hell that I would ever ever EVER get back together with you! Not in a million years. Not in a million trillion years! Now go away!"

She didn't even see him move. He grabbed her shoulder, pushed her up against the wall.

"Don't be so hasty in your decision. I'm sure you will come around. He kissed her on the cheek and left.

He didn't... Did he? What... I... Can't even...

He wants to get back together? Is he insane? What the hell does he mean when he says, "Don't be so hasty?" What the...

"Lizzy!" exclaimed a beaming Jane, "Guess what!"

"Jane I have something to tell you." She figured it would be a good idea to tell Jane about Wickham. Just in case he came for her again. He probably won't but just in case . . .

"I have something to tell you too! Charlie proposed!" Jane squealed.

"Wait. What? HE PROPOSED!"

"Yes, I know! Come on, he is in the living room!" Lizzy was lead into the room to be greeted by the sight of a beaming Charlie.

"You – you – you - proposed!" Lizzy said, stumbling over the words.

I can't tell Jane that I saw Wickham. I'll tell her later.

Charlie nodded his head enthusiastically, too ecstatic to say anything at all.

"Well this is great! I can't believe it!" Lizzy said.

"Look at the ring, isn't it beautiful?" Jane said shoving her ringed finger into Lizzy's face.

"It is! Jane let's celebrate! Get some champagne." Lizzy said

"Sure!" Jane replied, virtually skipping into the kitchen with joy.

"Okay Charlie, I have one minute to say all of this before Jane comes back and then I wont have an opportunity to say this. So first of all, FINALLY! You have been together since you guys were nineteen! And secondly, if you break my sister's heart, I can guarantee that I will break your face. And then kill you. And I have a sister who is very clever. She knows how to kill people and get rid of the evidence. So like I said, hurt Jane and you are dead. Understand?"

"I was expecting this... I know you well enough by now." He smiled fondly at her. "And secondly I know very well that Kitty can find ways to kill me and cover it up but I hope that seeing as I plan on staying with Jane all my life, she'll at least attempt to stop the rest of you from murdering me. I hope. Have I passed the Elizabeth Bennet test?"

"You have. You know have my blessing to marry my older sister. But if you hurt her..."

"Kitty will kill me, yes, I know."

"As long as you are clear on that."

"I am." Charlie agreed just as Jane came in with a bottle of champagne.

...

Why did I agree to come? I thought that drinking champagne was enough of a celebration but no... Apparently we need to have an engagement party. Well they need to have an engagement wedding but as maid of honour I have to be here. And I still haven't had a chance to tell Jane or even Charlie that I saw Wickham. Then again I haven't seen him since the night that Charlie proposed to Jane three weeks ago. Maybe he won't bug me again. There is no point worrying Jane when she already has Mama and Caroline breathing down her neck about wedding arrangements and colour schemes and stupid little things like that. Neither Jane nor Charlie have told Mama or Caroline that they plan on getting married in a small ceremony with about fifty guests in a month or so. I cannot wait for that to happen. I will have to make sure that there's a glass of cold water nearby to pour Mama – just in case. You can never be too careful.

"Eliza?" she was snapped out of her daydream than none other than the sister-in-law from hell, Caroline herself.

"Caro! I didn't know you would be here." Lizzy said, fed up already. Jane had made her promise not to antagonise Caroline due to the fact that neither Caroline nor Louisa, Charlie's other sister, would be bridesmaids seeing as Jane wanted all of her sisters – including Charlotte - to be bridesmaids and five was already too much. She couldn't wait till they found out.

"Really! Why wouldn't I be here? I love Jane! Apparently Louise and I will not be bridesmaids at our only brother's wedding! But that's fine." She smiled unconvincingly. "Of course she wants the girls she's grown up with as her bridesmaids. But like I said, that's fine. I mean, you guys obviously don't know how to plan a wedding because I mean look at this," Caroline gestured at the room where the party was being held. It just happened to be a conference room used often by Pemberley Publications – Darcy had booked it as an engagement present. Because he had the money for that. She couldn't believe Caroline didn't know that! "I mean why on Earth would anyone want a party in a crumbling old hall in the middle of nowhere?" Caroline practically shouted. Oh great, everyone is looking over at us. I hope Darcy didn't hear her insult his choice. I better cut her off, she seems to have drunk rather a lot.

"I personally think that this a great place to throw a party."

"Oh, well you would. I mean look at what you thought appropriate to wear… Everyone knows that orange is the colour "in" this season. Not whatever colour that dress is, you look terrible! And I bet you are the reason Jane won't have me as a bridesmaid. I mean I thought I would have been her maid of honour but no… Her darling sister Lizzy gets that honour! What do you have that I don't! I have the looks, I have style, I have class, I have rank and I even have more money than you, though that's not hard at all." She added derisively. "Just look at you. It is entirely your fault that I don't get to be the maid of honour and dance with the best man."

"The way you are going, you're not even going to be invited the wedding, Caroline." Lizzy looked up, clearly startled by the baritone voice over her hand. She hadn't noticed Darcy approaching. I, like the rest of this party, must have been paying so much attention to Caroline that I didn't hear him come.

Oh God. How much did he hear? I hope he didn't hear the bit where Caroline insulted his choice of venue... Gosh, that could get awkward.

"Darcy?!" It seemed Caroline had not seen him, either.

"Why would Charlie want to invite you when you have disrespected his future wife's class, rank, money, and attacked her sister? You even had the nerve to insult my hall."

"Your hall?" Caroline said dumbfounded.

"Yes, my hall. And no offence, Caroline but I am pretty sure that orange has never been in vogue. Not that I am a fashion expert or anything but I do have a sister who keeps on top of these things and I have never seen her in orange. Also Lizzy looks beautiful in her dress and I can see why Jane would want her as her maid of honour." Darcy finished, taking Caroline's glass away from her fingers before she could embarrass herself further.

"Fine! Be with that – that – charity case!" With that, Caroline grabbed her gaudy bright orange dress and flounced out.

"I am so sorry about that, Elizabeth but I could not contain myself any longer. She was being very insensitive and I can only apologise for that." Darcy said.

Before Lizzy could say reply, Charlotte came over on Rich's arm. It seems it was a good thing I gave Rich Char's number. A little too good…

"I can't believe she had the nerve to say that! Another reason to hate her. How can she and Charlie be related?! It's ridiculous. You know what you should have done Lizzy? Slapped her. I mean she is a bitch, so you can slap her. And if you did, you would take all of that makeup off of her face and I have always wondered what is under that mask of hers..." But Lizzy wasn't listening. All she should think about was the fact that Darcy had come to her defence and glint of anger she had seen in his eyes when Caro had called her a charity case.

And I thought today was going to be a bad day.

It turned out to be exactly that. A bad day. Because as soon as Lizzy looked through her post after sharing a taxi with Rich and Char – who were conveniently going in the same direction - she found a note...

* * *

you know the drill...


End file.
